Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887), a social reformer, once said, 'A library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life.'
I think he'd have a heart attack if he were to time travel forward in H.G. Wells' fictitious time machine. Library. What is it? One can say, a plethora of information or room full of bookshelves and books; another can say, a digital archive on the Net; or someone could call it...the dying. E BOOKS. Does that ring a bell? 'Sony eBooks' or 'Amazon Kindle?' I think you catch my drift.
Libraries are evolving with time; they not only have books, but also free internet access, private study/social rooms and entertainment. They have become a social platform.
Author of 'Isolation' and 'It Can Always Get Worse' says, 'What's cheaper than a gallon of gas? An eBook. Save a dollar, stay home and read!'
Think of it like On-line shopping. A lot of people prefer it to physically going to shop. And a lot of people don't have the time for it, with work and family responsibilities. Furthermore, after a hard day's work, people just want to relax. For me, relaxation is opening up a good book for read. But, nowadays, I'm even considering publishing my own eBook....
It's definitely the way of the future. But does this mean that libraries are dead or dying? On the contrary, they are evolving or conforming with the technological changes of 'today.'
And well, I say, 'Why not!' Telephones have evolved into mobile telephones; horse carriages...into auto mobiles and encyclopaedias ..into the Internet/Web/Net, whatever you call it. Personally, I love the smell and feel of a physical book. But lovers of books are not necessarily haters of modern technology and vice versa.
You decide. Ebook, physical book, or both? It's just personal preference.
I hope books continue to exist and don't end in the same fate as it was in 'Time Machine.'
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